Assault on cop: SC commission seeks action-taken report

The Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes (SC) on Thursday issued a notice to union territory (UT) Chandigarh home secretary, senior superintendent of police (SSP) and the Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretary, seeking an action-taken report about the assault on Punjab police head constable Jaipal Singh, allegedly by Congress MLAs on the Vidhan Sabha premises on Wednesday.

chandigarhUpdated: Mar 14, 2013 20:45 IST

HT Correspondent

Hindustan Times

The Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes (SC) on Thursday issued a notice to union territory (UT) Chandigarh home secretary, senior superintendent of police (SSP) and the Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretary, seeking an action-taken report about the assault on Punjab police head constable Jaipal Singh, allegedly by Congress MLAs on the Vidhan Sabha premises on Wednesday.

According to a press note issued by the Punjab government, the commission headed by chairman Rajesh Bagha, along with members Parkash Singh Gardhiwala and Dalip Singh Pandhi, met on Thursday to consider the representation of Jasbir Singh Mehta, president, Guru Ravidass Welfare Society, SAS Nagar, who had requested the commission to take strict action against Congress MLAs for allegedly assaulting the Dalit cop on duty and ridiculing him with casteist remarks.

The complainant expressed apprehension that the MLAs were exercising their undue authority to scuttle the investigation.

Taking cognisance of the incident, the commission felt that if a cop, who belongs to the SC community, was not safe on the premises of the Vidhan Sabha, it was the SC commission's duty to intervene and ensure expeditious justice to the aggrieved party.

The commission stated that if it did not receive the reply within the stipulated time, it would be forced to exercise powers of the civil court conferred on it by the law.

A copy of the complaint was forwarded to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, New Delhi, for information and necessary further action.